Not All That Bad
by controlled climb
Summary: Lily is upset when her flying lesson with Albus doesn't turn out all that well. Hinted Scorpius/Lily.


**Written for the "What You'd Never Write" Challenge**

_- Write a Scorpius/Lily._

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Lily smiled uncertainly at her cousins, flicking a strand of red hair from her face. Rose, a bossy girl with a hot temper, clapped her firmly on the back, pushing her towards the pitch. Lily turned, glaring at the older girl, before stalking off adamantly, clutching her broom tightly to her chest. It was only moments before Albus, Lily's older brother, scuttled after her.

"Are you sure?" Albus asked cautiously. Lily, like her mother, was an independent girl, and not one to be reckoned with. The girl looked up at him, before casting a fleeting glance to where Rose, Lucy and Fred were watching her. A knowing smirk was on Fred's face; as if he knew that she was frightened. As if he knew that she was about to bail out at any moment. Obviously, he didn't know her very well. Because although she was a quiet girl, Lily Luna Potter did not give up. Well, not easily, anyway.

"Yes, damn it, Albus," she muttered, placing the broom on the ground and shouting a defiant, "Up!"

Albus chuckled quietly as he watched the broom fly into his sister's outstretched hand. A look of shock crossed Lily's face, but she soon wiped it off, replacing it with a look of determination.

"Be careful, Lily," Rose called, watching apprehensively as the younger girl threw her legs over the wood, straddling the broom. Lily rolled her eyes in return. Though Rose was bossy, she was still a worrywart, something that Lily had learnt to ignore over the years.

Lily placed her hands on the edge of the broom, clutching it tightly, her knuckles turning white. Her mouth was set in a determined line, and her eyes had narrowed considerably. She gave Albus a curt nod, before placing her feet on the ground, ready to kick off.

"Wait," Albus said anxiously. "Are you sure?"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Al," Lily replied through gritted teeth.

He recoiled in submission, raising him arms jokingly. Taking a hesitant step back, he stopped, watching her. He waited. And waited. And waited.

…

He was still waiting. Why hadn't Lily kicked off yet? He sighed, letting his eyes rest on his sister, quivering on the stationary broom. She was frightened. He held out his hand, pulling her into a tight hug as she took it, dropping the broom, letting it clutter onto the ground.

"You don't have to be able to ride a broom," Albus held his sister back a short distance for a while, "You know that, right?"

"Right," Lily muttered sarcastically, before giving him an apologetic smile and scuttling away. She headed towards the halls of Hogwarts, and on her arrival began wandering aimlessly through the corridors. Something told her to head towards the Gryffindor common room, but she resisted. She didn't feel brave. She couldn't even ride a broom. She sighed, leaning against the wall and dropping to the floor. She was Harry Potter's daughter, for Merlin's sake, it was meant to be in her blood. A tear slipped down her cheek, only to be whipped away quickly. Yes, she was upset, but she was not going to cry. She just wouldn't allow herself to.

"Potter?"

Lily looked up, praying, for once, that the person would be referring to one of her brothers.

"Malfoy," she spat, catching a glimpse of his light blonde hair and cold grey eyes, which for some reason didn't seem quite so cold. "Piss off."

"Language, Potter," Scorpius scolded, smirking with amusement.

Lily glared in return. It was like he got a kick, a laugh, out of watching her wallow in misery. She sighed, letting her head roll back, hitting the wall gently.

"Scorpius," she said, hoping that the use of his first name would catch him off guard. "Please, please, please just leave me alone," she batted her eyelashes, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Had it really come to this? That she had to flirt shamelessly just to get him to leave her alone? Had she really sunk to this level?

To her dismay, it didn't seem to put him off, if anything, Scorpius seemed more intrigued than before.

"What's eating you?" he asked, seating himself beside her on the cold floor, ignoring the odd looks that other students were sending his way.

Lily stared at him for a moment. He looked like Scorpius Malfoy. He sounded like Scorpius Malfoy. So why wasn't he acting like Scorpius Malfoy? Since when did he give a damn about what happened to her? _Oh, what the hell_, Lily thought. _Who's it gonna hurt if I tell him? It's not like I have my dignity any more._

"I can't ride a broom," Lily said simply.

"Aren't you a third year?"

"Yes," she said, realizing that he was referring to the flying lessons that she was meant to have had in first year. "I missed my flying lesson, due to a certain mishap thanks to –"

"Your brothers," Scorpius finished for her.

"Brother," Lily corrected. James, like his namesake, had a habit of creating havoc at Hogwarts. She bit her lip. She didn't mean to sound like she was annoyed with her brothers; she loved them really. Yes, she would probably love James a little bit more if he would consider making sure his pranks didn't affect her, but then, the likelihood of that ever happening was next to none.

"Fine." Scorpius shrugged, a piece of blonde hair falling on his face.

The two sat in silence for a few moments, while Lily contemplated the conversation. James would bloody kill her if he knew that she was even conversing with Scorpius, let alone actually sitting in the middle of the corridor with him. Then again, she didn't tell James what to do, and there was a small hope that the favour would be returned. Besides, come to think of it, Scorpius wasn't really all that bad. His family reputation, though, that was atrocious. But no one should be judged because of his or her parents. That, Lily had learnt firsthand.

"So," Scorpius broke the silence, looking down at the younger girl with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You still wanna learn how to fly?"

Lily's jaw dropped in shock. "W-w-what?" she stammered, unintelligently.

Scorpius smirked at her obvious discomfort, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet. "Come on, Potter."

Lily, for once in her life, didn't resist. After all, he wasn't all that bad. Not really.


End file.
